Joe Henry has some suggestions on changing your jigging cadence to attract more walleyes.

There are many criteria to consider if your goal is to catch more walleyes and saugers this winter. For starters, fish on a body of water that holds good numbers of fish. Whether your choice is Lake of the Woods or another body of water with a healthy walleye population, once you are actually fishing, make your time count.

“The fish are coming through on our electronics, but we can’t get them to eat.” Has this ever happened to you? Is it that the walleyes and saugers will truly not eat, or is it that they are looking to eat a different presentation or offering? In many situations, by changing something about your presentation or offering, you can ultimately ice more walleyes.

1. The norm

Jig, jig and let it sit in the strike zone. Jig, jig, jig and let it sit in the strike zone. This technique catches thousands of walleyes. Yet, there are times when the walleyes and saugers seem a bit unresponsive. What then? That’s when it is time to mix it up.

2. Rattataptap

When you see that fish come in and it isn’t whacking ya, try shaking your rod tip as fast as you can. I also tap my fingers on the butt of my rod as fast as I can, sending vibrations down to the lure. This often induces a solid “tap” or that extra weight of an ‘eye or sauger.

3. Thrill of the chase

When a walleye is watching your lure, but not hitting it, try jigging the lure while raising your lure higher and higher in the water column. This emulates the prey trying to get away. When that fish is following up, don’t slow down! Keep the lure rising just ahead of the chasing fish. Either that fish will fly up, close the gap and hit your lure, or that fish will come off the bottom a bit and go back down.

When it goes back down, try teasing the fish up again or try another technique. Get ready; when a walleye is chasing your lure up, you will get slack when it hits. Set the hook! It is helpful to tease them up by reeling the reel and jigging at the same time vs. raising your arms. Take it from me, raising my arms while I pull the lure up makes it nearly impossible to set the hook when the fish hits, when my arms are already extended up.

4. Pound the bottom

Another successful technique to not only get fish to bite, but also to attract fish, is to pound the bottom with your lure and lift it off slowly. This not only gives off vibrations in the water, but also stirs up the mud or sand, representing some living creature the walleyes are used to eating. Be ready when you lift it off the bottom. If there is any extra weight, set the hook. Sometimes, walleyes will grab on ever so subtly, and it takes an aware angler to detect the fish’s presence.

5. Get Radical

When fish seem sluggish, I often go against the grain and rip a Rapala Rippin’ Rap or other type of vibrating blade lure. This aggressive 3-foot jigging motion creates vibration through the water, affecting the walleye’s lateral line. Even when things are slow, one of two things will happen. Either, out of nowhere, a bright red line (fish) will appear on the electronics. In this case, the fish is hot and all I need to do is put my lure in front of the fish, jiggle it and most of the time, that fish nails it.

The other scenario is that the erratic vibration and rattles will pull the fish in, and they will end up swimming over to the dead stick with a live minnow, and the bobber goes down. Either way, I win. My favorite colors on Lake of the Woods are gold and pink UV firetiger. I prefer the small- to medium-sized lures under the ice.

It’s easy to get locked into personal fishing patterns and memories. Make it about the walleyes and what they want, not how you are used to ice fishing. Add these tools to your tool belt this year and get ready to ice more walleyes!

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